Google asks Blighty to slave over its Maps for FREE

Google is extending its Map Maker editing tool to users in Blighty, so they can help the Chocolate Factory get its maps right.

Googlers in the US, France, Australia and over a dozen other countries have been able to add detail to Maps on the browser-based software for as long as five years now, as the tool has spread since its launch in 2008.

Map Maker allows users to add places, roads, rivers, rail lines, natural features and more to their country's Maps, which are then reviewed by other Googlers and the Choc Factory itself before going live. Local users can also add better detail to hiking and bike trails and other features of Maps.

"Contributing to Google Map Maker can quickly transform a simple map into a more detailed and accurate representation of a city’s local treasures," program manager Satish Mavuri said in a blog post.

"Drawing from your knowledge about world famous tourist destinations or the streets of your hometown, you can now use Google Map Maker to make the map of the United Kingdom (along with Isle of Man, Jersey and Guernsey) more comprehensive and accurate than ever before."

Google had said there were technical difficulties in merging its existing maps with Map Maker, which is why it has taken the firm so long to bring the tool to Blighty. Brits have previously been stuck with two options: report problems on Maps or suggest limited changes.

Of course, while the whole thing is a chance to improve life for the users, it's also giving Google a handy non-paid countrywide workforce to fix any issues with its UK maps and improve them. And the Choc Factory makes sure it has an iron grip on whatever users upload with this clause in the Ts&Cs: